


Family Vacation

by lizard_socks



Series: Something Unusual [2]
Category: Lilo & Stitch (2002), Stargate SG-1
Genre: Canon Compliant, During Canon, Gen, Investigations, Post-Episode: s05e22 Revelations, Russian Stargate Program, Sorquines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27072547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizard_socks/pseuds/lizard_socks
Summary: Sam and Jacob are sent on a joint mission: investigate - as quietly as possible - the crash of an alien escape pod on Kauai.
Series: Something Unusual [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043484
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

General Hammond stood behind the glass, looking out over the gate room as SG-3 stepped through the gate. Strictly speaking, his presence wasn't necessary in such a routine operation. Neither was that of Major Samantha Carter, the Air Force physicist who had helped bring the gate online, but she was the only member of SG-1 who wasn't otherwise occupied. Teal'c, the resident Jaffa, was helping SG-4 translate some Goa'uld texts; ever since Daniel had left, Teal'c had been the resident expert in the language. And Jack was taking some much-needed time off; he was probably in Minnesota by now.

"Chevron 7 locked."

The wormhole established itself, and the four members of SG-3 stepped through.

Sam turned to Hammond. "You know, if you ever need an additional person to join a mission, I am available."

"I'll keep that in mind, Major," Hammond responded. "But I actually had something else in mind. It's not directly related to the Stargate program, but my superiors think you might be the right person for the job."

* * *

Hammond sat down behind the desk in his office. Sam followed him in and shut the door behind her. 

"I suppose you might already know about the unidentified object that landed in Hawaii."

"It's pretty much an open secret at this point, sir," Sam said. "At least among the military and intelligence communities."

"Do you think it might be an escape pod from a ship in orbit?"

"It's a strong possibility, sir."

"Good." Hammond grabbed a file from a drawer and dropped it onto his desk. "The Air Force agrees with you. They want to send a team to investigate the crash site and figure out who, if anyone, was inside that pod."

Sam picked up the file and glanced at the papers inside. The crash site had been pinpointed on Kauai. What were the chances? Just a little bit of extra acceleration in any direction, and the pod would have veered off into the ocean. "If we're getting involved," she asked, "why not send a whole team?"

"We don't want to arouse international suspicion. If we send four Air Force officers to poke around on an island of just sixty thousand people, they're going to start asking questions. At that point, we'd have to tell them the pod was one of ours, and try to explain why it won't happen again."

"But we don't know. It very well could happen again."

"And that's why we're taking a more subtle approach," Hammond said. "We won't be sending you in your capacity as an Air Force officer. We'll be sending you on a family vacation."

"Family? You mean..."

"Jacob's going to come with you. The Tok'ra are just as curious about this pod's origins as we are. The three of you will be our team." Hammond stood up. "With that in mind, try not to do anything to escalate the sitation. If you need backup, you let us know."

* * *

Even as a Major General in the U.S. Air Force, Jacob Carter had never imagined the kinds of missions he would go on after his "retirement". Bonded with the symbiote Selmak, he had become crucial to the Tok'ra and their resistance against the Goa'uld. He was their chief liason with Earth, and found himself fighting side by side with his daughter on hidden bases, stolen motherships, and hostile planets. 

So even when the two of them were wearing civilian clothing, standing along the side of a road in Hawaii, it was hard to forget that they still had a job to do.

Jacob paged through a road atlas, pretending to look for directions just in case anyone was watching. "I have to admit, this might be one of our more awkward family vacations."

"Why's that?"

"Last time we were here, there was only one person in my body."

"I suppose we'll see about that. But I'm sure our mission will benefit from another set of eyes. Well... in a manner of speaking."

The two of them made their way through the dense foilage, away from the road and inland towards the crash site. It was beautiful, even at night, and the weather was perfect.

"Either of you know who might have launched this escape pod?" Sam asked. "The energy signatures don't seem to line up with any known Goa'uld ships."

Jacob briefly lowered his eyes, so the symbiote Selmak could speak through him. "We know nothing about this vessel or origin that you do not," Selmak said. "We suspect it may be from a race not encountered by even the Goa'uld."

"How is that possible?" asked Sam. "These aliens clearly have the technology for space travel. The Goa'uld use the Stargate network to travel acrosss the galaxy - this level of technology must have attracted their attention."

Selmak thought for a moment. "There are rumors of a group called the Federation. It's a collection of non-human aliens in a corner of the galaxy not far from here. It's said that they occupy an area of space where there are no active Stargates, and that their combined forces are able to prevent invasions by ship."

"A group of aliens? Of different species?"

"That's the story." Jacob spoke for himself now. "Neither of us have ever seen evidence of their existence."

"Neither have we," said Sam. "Then again, we've only travelled to worlds that do have a gate."

The two of them reached a clearing. Sam pulled out her binoculars. "This is the spot," she said. "Sun's starting to come up."

"See any debris?"

"Not much. I think someone- wait." She held up her hand. "Someone's down there."

Jacob took cover in the foilage, pulling out his own pair of binoculars. Two figures emerged from across the clearing: one large and wide, one thin with an odd gait. Both wore clothing that looked as though it had just been purchased from a souvenir shop. They walked towards the crash site and remained quiet as they surveyed the area.

"They've been here before," Jacob said.

"Yep." Sam adjusted the binoculars. "I'd say they're aliens from the looks of it."

"You can tell by their clothes?"

"No, by their number of eyes."

"I was kidding, Sam."

The two figures reached the end of their search.

"I am telling you, it is not here," the larger one said. "626's programming would certainly cause it to seek out the nearest population center, to cause the maximum destruction."

"We're not here because we think it's here," said the other. "We're here because we have to clean up after ourselves. This planet is a wildlife refuge!"

The first figure pointed at himself. "I was not the one who decided to land on this planet."

"Well, you made the one that did," the second one shot back, lifting a piece of metal of the ground and tossing it into his acquaintance's arms. "And I am here to hold you responsible for your actions."

As the two of them walked away, Jacob put down his binoculars and looked over at Sam.

"I'm thinking we should head back to the house."


	2. Chapter 2

"Those aliens didn't look like any species I've ever seen before." Sam sat on the sofa of their rented beach house, looking out the windows at the ocean. It was still early in the morning, but the vacationers who had rented the houses around them had already made their way to the beach - still on Pacific time, no doubt. "They weren't even the same species as each other." 

"Maybe they are from the Federation." Sam's father was sitting at the table behind her, sipping a cup of coffee. "It didn't look like a master-servant or employer-employee relationship. They were bickering, sure, but they were also working together."

"What's 626, then?" Sam asked. "Some kind of weapon, I suppose."

"Maybe a bomb of some sort?" Jacob suggested casually. "It might seek out life signs."

"Well, it hasn't gone off yet; otherwise, they wouldn't still be looking." Sam got up and walked over to the table. "They could just be trying to stop it from falling into enemy hands. Are both these cups of coffee yours?"

"This one's mine. That one's Selmak's." He shrugged. "We have different tastes."

"My question is why there were just two of them," Sam continued. "If the escape pod fell here by accident, or was sent by some enemy of theirs, you'd think they'd want a bigger team. My only guess is that they're thinking the same thing we are - that they shouldn't draw too much attention."

"Or maybe they don't care about Earth enough to send more than a couple people."

"I don't know. That skinny one with the one eye - he really seemed concerned with protecting the wildlife." Sam pulled out a chair and sat down. "I saw him step over a weed."

Jacob paused, as though he had suddenly thought of something. "You know who they reminded me of? Emil and Kathy when they lost their dog."

"So the weapon might be... a rogue AI."

"Or bioengineered." Jacob rose out of his chair and looked out over the back of the sofa. He turned to Sam. "Say, is there supposed to be someone out there on the deck?"

* * *

The woman on the outdoor deck set down her magazine and took off her sunglasses as she rose from the chaise lounge. She looked to be around fifty, with a calm but alert energy about her.

"You don't need the gun, Major," she said calmly, with a Russian accent. "I didn't bring mine." She peeked over Sam's shoulder at Jacob. "And you've got a zat, too? You really are prepared."

"How did you get up here?" Sam asked.

The woman gestured behind her. "Ladder."

"Who are you?"

"Call me Em-80. Russian military intelligence." She flashed an easygoing smile. "I would show you my ID, but you know how easily such things can be faked."

"How'd you know we were here?" Jacob asked.

"Don't worry," Em-80 assured them. "You did nothing wrong in your mission. I came here for the same reason you did: to investigate the alien landing. I just happened to recognize the two of you when I was walking past. For someone in my position, your daughter is something of a celebrity."

Sam lowered her weapon. "You were in the Russian Stargate program, weren't you?"

Em-80 laughed. "There's no need for secrets between us, Carter. I know those two aliens have been poking around the crash site. They've been here for days now. And I'll let you in on another secret: I'm an alien too."

Sam looked at Jacob. "She's green."

"With big black eyes, yeah." Jacob kept his eyes on Em-80. "I'm guessing you've got some way to stop people from noticing that? Some kind of remote mind control?"

"A souvenir from my home planet." Em-80 pulled a handheld device from her pocket. "Very weak. It stops working if people get suspicious, and it will never fool a camera."

"Do you think that's how the other aliens are staying undetected?"

"I honestly do not know. They may have such devices. Or they may have simply avoided detection because nobody expects them to be here. This is not a place where people come to look for extraterrestial life." Em-80 casually strolled past Sam and Jacob and into the living room.  


Jacob turned around. "You can't just walk into our house!" he protested.

"You know why I am here, I assume," said Em-80. "The Federation is a mighty force. It should not be only Americans that are involved in the first contact with them." She shrugged. "It follows that we will work together."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not a suggestion?" asked Sam.

"Why do you think I told you I'm an alien?" Em-80 replied. "You don't know what I'm capable of, or who I might know. Call your SGC if you must, but it will be better for all of us if you take my offer."

She grabbed Selmak's coffee from the table and carried it into the bedroom.

* * *

Pleakley tried his best to grumble. It was the appropriate human reaction to the situation, and it was as a human that he had disguised himself - quite successfully, he thought. They may not have been the dominant species on the planet, but he doubted he could ever pass himself off as a mosquito.

When he had made his services available to the Council as the Federation's foremost export on the planet Earth, he didn't think it would mean actually going there, on his own - or, worse, with nobody beside him except the insufferable mad scientist Jumba Jookiba, the man who had created 626 in the first place. To add insult to injury, neither of them had been able to track the creature down.

The bartender set another Diet Pepsi down in front of him. Why humans liked this beverage was a mystery, one he was trying to solve. It was as though they could not tell the difference between it and the sugary "normal" Pepsi at all. A woman sat down a couple of seats away and ordered a plate of something called "finch fries", then started writing something on her napkin with a small pen. Pleakley made a note to look up what a finch was, again, and figure out how it could be fried.

"Are you from around here?" the woman asked.

"Oh. No, I'm just in town for work." Wait - was she going to ask what Pleakley's job was? He tried to come up with a good lie. 

"Me too." The woman kept writing on her napkin, not making eye contact just yet. "I've been around these parts before, though. Let me know if you want any advice, or directions. Say, if you're... looking for something."

Pleakley gave her a congenial smile. "I assure you, I-"

"Oh, it looks like my table's ready." The woman picked up her glass of water, but left the napkin on the bar. "If you need me, you know where to find me." She winked. "I'm the green one."

So she _was_ an alien. From the Federation, probably - some sort of secret operative, not ready to blow her cover. Pleakley breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn't interfere, and he wouldn't need her. Or, if he did, he would request help through the proper chain of command. He reached over to grab the napkin and dispose of it in the proper manner-

A set of symbols on the napkin caught his eye.

A stargate address.

What did it mean? Did Earth have a stargate? Is that how she got here? If true, than the mosquitoes were in more danger than he ever could have realized. They weren't in the safety of the Federations stargate-free zone anymore, and the Goa'uld would not hesitate to exterminate them, endangered species status notwithstanding.

When he returned to the Federation, he would have to request funding to move the mosquito population to a safer environment. And hopefully he'd never have to put up with Jumba again.

* * *

Em-80 sat down at the table next to Jacob and Sam. "He knows I'm here," she said. "And he knows there's a Stargate, so hopefully he asks for our help. If not-"

"-we do nothing," Jacob said. "This doesn't mean we're putting you in charge. But I agree - this is the best course of action for now."

"Hammond's on board, too," said Sam. "He's working with Em-80's superiors in the Russian military to keep everyone on the same page."

"What do we do now?" Jacob asked.

"It's a vacation. We relax."


	3. Chapter 3

Jumba absentmindedly scanned through the TV channels available at the hotel. Too many of them were dedicated to humans. Humans here, humans there. A real lack of creativity. There was one signal that claimed to originate from an "animal planet", which he resolved to investigate; it seemed like a valuable source of genetic material for future experiments.

Pleakley burst into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Is there a problem?" Jumba asked, calm as ever.

"There's a  _stargate_ on this planet!"

"Ah?" Jumba stood up - briefly, then sat back down. "Good to know. Another escape route."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Pleakley paced around the room. "This planet is in the thick of galactic chaos! There could be a Goa'uld attack at any moment! We can't let 626 fall into their hands!"

Jumba laughed. "626 is no good to them, Pleakley. Any parasite would share the emotions of its host. And the emotions of 626 will always drive it towards chaos and disorder. That is not how you build an empire."

"You really built him so he couldn't be controlled by the Goa'uld?" Pleakley asked.

"Yes! That wasn't the goal, of course. But a happy side effect. Say..." Jumba leaned against the wall. "How did you learn about the stargate?"

"A woman at the restaurant offered her 'assistance'," Pleakley said, making exaggerated air quotes. He pulled out a small device with a large radio antenna. "I scanned her life signs with my communicator. She's not from this planet."

"Do you think she will be an obstacle to us?" Jumba asked.

Pleakley paused for a moment. "Well... I suppose it didn't sound like a threat."

"Then we ignore her. We don't need her help. We will capture 626. Give it time! I created him. I know what he will do, and we will be ready."

* * *

Sam and Jacob walked through downtown, past a dozen small shops. 

"It's not weird, having Selmak around?" Jacob asked.

"Not really, no," said Sam. "At least not for me. How is he doing?"

"If he had something to say, he'd say it." He handed Sam a snow cone from a streetside vendor. "If anyone's messing up our vacation, it's the Russian spy living in our beach house."

"She said she'd help pay rent. Besides, she must trust us if she's leaving us alone now."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, she seems like a great gal. It's her bosses I'm not so sure about."

"What about the Tok'ra? What do they get out of this operation? Anything we learn about these aliens, we'll share with you - surely you know that."

Jacob lowered his voice. "Selmak doesn't like to talk about it," he said. "But it's really more of an excuse to get away. There aren't many of us anymore. The Tok'ra are in the midst of a particularily delicate operation, and if it goes wrong... they want to make sure at least one symbiote survives."

Sam nodded. "To carry on the knowledge."

"It's a standard precaution ever since Revanna."

Jacob and Sam reached the end of the street and looked up towards the mountains.

"Of course," Selmak said quietly, "whoever is selected to fill this role must bear the knowledge that they may become the last of their race."

"Living your life with the knowledge that there's nobody out there like you." Sam put her hands in her pockets. "Hard to imagine. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

* * *

Jacob sat down at the table with two plates of eggs and toast - one for him, and one for Sam. He passed her plate across the table to her. 

"So how long do you think they'll keep us here?" Sam asked.

"No idea," said Jacob. "The Tok'ra got through their mission fine, but they haven't called us back for anything yet."

"And if they do?"

"I suppose you'll be stuck here with Em-80."

Em-80 grabbed a slice of toast and ate it plain. "He's right, of course," she said. "Neither of our governments will withdraw us while the other is still here."

"But we both have a vested interest in keeping this situation quiet," Sam said. "And so do the aliens. I guess we just wait until they find their weapon and leave."

Sam's cell phone rang. She quickly grabbed it from her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello? ... Oh. Yes, of course. We'll get ready and come as quick as we can. ... OK, we'll bring her too. Do you have an address? ... Sure, coordinates are fine. We'll use the GPS."

She flipped it closed.

"One of the locals called 911 and reported aliens attacking her house. The SGC wants us all to go together. Em-80, grab the GPS reciever from the drawer in my bedroom. We'll round up our weapons. If there's anything you don't want to leave here unprotected, bring it with you."

* * *

In addition to gathering weapons and supplies, Sam had also taken the time to change into an Air Force uniform. As she expected, the fire department had already arrived by the time she drove down the dirt road and pulled up to the house. 

"I was hoping we would be able to tell if the damage was caused by an energy weapon," she told her father. "That would back up any claims of an alien presence. But there might not be enough of it left."

"And the parts left over are probably unaffected by alien weapons anyway," Em-80 added from the backseat. As Sam parked the car, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out.

Jacob turned to Sam as he opened the passenger-side door. "Let's go. Unless you want our Russian friend to go chat it up with the firefighters before we do."

As it turned out, Em-80 was waiting calmly outside the car, watching them put out the fire. The house had been built on a hill, but there wasn't much of it left.

Sam approached one of the firemen as the others helped reel the hose back up. "Any idea what happened here?" she asked.

"Who are you?" the man asked. He seemed curious, but not particularily suspicious or hostile.

"Major Samantha Carter, U.S. Air Force." She showed him her credentials. "We have a team posted to this region on a special mission, and we're wondering whether this might be related."

The man shrugged. "The residents aren't around. Sounds like the girl took off somewhere and her sister is out looking for her. He gestured towards a tall man in sunglasses standing a ways behind him and to his left. "You might want to ask the guy over there. He's a social worker - I've seen him before - so he's probably been coming here for a while. Wondering if he's maybe got a bigger picture."

"Thanks." Sam turned around and walked back to the car, where Em-80 and Jacob already had an eye on the man in question.

"The people living here both left," Sam said. "The kid's safe but her sister's out looking for her. That's their social worker."

"Seems like a pretty flimsy cover story," said Em-80.

"You really think he's suspicious? Where do you think he's from?"

Jacob turned back around and leaned casually against the car. "I'm inclined to take the firefighters at their word on this one," he said. "If you send an undercover operative on a mission, you're not going to give them a job like that. People would figure you out in a second."

"We need to take precautions," Em-80 said. "Besides, his behavior seems odd to me. Why is he still here, when his clients have already left?"

"Maybe he's taking photos of the damage." Sam glanced up the hill at the burned-out house. "I was wondering why he'd be at the scene of a fire in the first place. You think maybe he came here to take the girl out of her sister's custody? It would explain why she ran. He probably thinks this is an unhealthy environment for her."

"It's not their fault," said Jacob. "He probably doesn't know about the aliens. If 626 - whatever it is - ended up here, and the aliens caused this fire trying to get it back..."

He took another look behind him. The mysterious man had taken out a cell phone, and was talking quietly enough to avoid being overheard, but his voice was tense.

"We need to tell him, Sam."

"About the aliens?"

"Whatever is necessary. He just needs to know there's a broader situation going on here. I don't want to see a family split up over this."


	4. Chapter 4

"You're bringing a _human_ onto a _spaceship_! This situation is completely out of control."

"That is where you are wrong, see?" Jumba glanced back at Pleakley as he led the way to his ship. "Out of control would mean we do not have a plan. But we _do_ have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Like I said. We all go in _this_ ship, and we chase Gantu's ship until he is forced to land."

" _Without_ hurting Lilo."

"Of course!"

"Well, I was hoping for a little more detail."

"You want a backup plan?" He tossed Pleakley a small radio. "This communicator is programmable. Use it to talk to your Russian friend."

Pleakley glared at him. "And how an I supposed to do that?"

"Did you not look at the back of the napkin?" Jumba said, genuinely surprised. "The stargate address was not the only thing she wrote." As they arrived at his ship, he stopped to pull the door open, then pointed a finger at Pleakley. "I've already set the communicator. 12 meter wavelength, unencrypted continuous wave."

"Unencrypted?" Pleakley stepped into the ship. "Won't everyone be able to hear us?"

"Then be careful what you say!"

* * *

Cobra did his best to stay patient as the young CIA agent on his phone told him things he already knew. It was going on and on, and keeping him from what was really important right now - finding Lilo. The girl that it was his _job_ to protect. This had been the last straw; he had finally made the call to take her out of her sister's care, and she immediately ran off. Her well-being had been his responsibility for a long time, but now it felt even more acute. 

Meanwhile, he had kept his eye on a suspicious trio trying to hide themselves behind a car. He was going to leave them behind, reasonably certain that they couldn't have overheard anything important. But now one of them was walking up to him. He looked confident, like a man who was used to being listened to, and he wouldn't easily be dismissed.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Jacob Carter. I'm here on behalf of the United States Air Force, and there are some things we'd like you to be aware of."

"Relating to how the house burned down? Let me guess." He lowered his sunglasses. "Aliens."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've known for a _long_ time, Mr. Carter. And I just got off a _very_ long call from some old friends who wasted my time telling me everything I already know. I'd prefer if we skipped that step." Cobra threw a quick glance towards Jacob's mismatched associates. "Besides, you've brought an alien with you. I'm sure she'll tell you everything you need to know."

"We didn't exactly invite her along, but I have to admit, she's been pretty helpful to us," said Jacob. "So. You really are a social worker?"

"I am now," Cobra said, starting to step back into his car. "And I take my job very seriously. In fact, there's somewhere I need to be right now."

"This is about the girl, isn't it?" Jacob looked into Cobra's eyes. "I know you need to go get her. But do you really need to take her from her home? This" - he gestured towards the burned-out house - "is the result of an alien attack. It's not their fault."

"The aliens are the only reason I've let this go on as long as it has," Cobra said. "I don't doubt that they love each other. But she needs a stable environment. And it doesn't matter whose fault it is - her sister is not capable of providing that. Not on her own."

Cobra heard a shout to his right. Both he and Jacob turned to face it. There was the green alien, running towards them holding a handheld radio. The other member of the party, another Air Force officer, was right behind her.

"She's got a signal from the alien aircraft!" the officer shouted.

"Alien..." Cobra and Jacob looked to the sky to see two unknown aircraft, both colorful and - judging by their shape - designed for both air and space flight.

The officer quickly looked over to Cobra and introduced herself. "Major Samantha Carter, U.S. Air Force."

"Cobra Bubbles. Area 51 - retired."

He was used to people having some sort of reaction to his name, but the green alien was the only one with any reaction at all. She quickly shook her head. "We can talk about that later. Big ship has picked up the girl. Small ship has on board her sister and some aliens - they're going to try a rescue."

"Lilo's in that ship?"

The alien ignored him and silently held the radio out to Sam.

"No, you keep it for now," Sam said. "I need to get in touch with Hickam Air Force Base, or both those ships might get shot down."

"Someone will need to relay messages from the ship while you talk to the Air Force," the alien told her. "They won't trust a Russian spy." She walked over to Cobra. "Maybe you can be of assistance? After all, the girl is your responsibility."

Cobra nodded, frowning. He could have done without the reminder.

Jacob looked over at Cobra. "You two stay together," he said. "I'll keep an eye on Em-80 if you can. She may be helping us on this, but she's still a member of a foreign military."

"Galactic Federation?" Cobra asked.

"No. Russia." Jacob turned towards the car he had come in. "I expect these aliens are going to have to land eventually. And there are some things they'll need to know about this planet."

Cobra stopped him before he walked away.

"One moment, Mr. Carter. There's something _you'll_ need to know about how much _they_ know."

* * *

Jacob arrived at the beach. Thanks to Sam's efforts, the Air Force and the Navy had pretty well secured the area - good thing, too, because it was swarming with aliens. In particular, a large group of armed guards whose suits covered their entire bodies, but didn't disguise their reptilian skeletons. 

Selmak wasn't normally one to take control - even among the Tok'ra, he usually allowed his host to explain his thoughts to those around him. And it was especially true with Jacob, an individual who already held the respect of the Tau'ri. But if Cobra's story was correct, the Federation would be more likely to take a non-human's word at face value, and they would certainly understand the idea of a protected planet.

Upon approaching the ocean, Selmak found himself at gunpoint.

"Identify yourself, please."

An alien woman stood off to the side, facing him with a stern expression. She was of a species Selmak had never before seen; reminiscent perhaps of the original Asgard, before their dependency on cloning, but different still. A distant offshoot, perhaps?

"I am Selmak of the Tok'ra."

"Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time." The woman gestured to the guards, who lowered their weapons, and she walked slowly towards him. "I am the Grand Councilwoman of the Galactic Federation. I've never met any of the Tok'ra face to face. You use a species from this planet as your hosts?"

"In general, yes. But only those who are willing."

"Of course. I suppose you arrive through the stargate?"

"There is something you must know," Selmak said. "There is indeed a stargate on this planet. But the planet is also protected by a treaty between the System Lords and the Asgard. Neither may interfere."

"I see. And how long do you think this will hold?"

 _Maybe not for long_ , Selmak thought to himself. "I should also note," he continued, "that this planet's gate is not in the open, as on most planets. It is deep underground, under the protection of the military of this planet's most powerful nation."

"Well." The councilwoman looked around. "Would we happen to be in that nation right now?"

"We would."

Selmak couldn't quite read the alien's expression, but it looked to him like she was thinking about something. Perhaps this information would alter her plan - whatever that was. Maybe the Federation had been planning to track down and destroy the gate? Hopefully he had convinced her that such measures would not be necessary.

"Very well," she said. "I will take this information under advisement."

* * *

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat down across from Sam in the cafeteria at Stargate Command.

"I hear you've had quite the adventure."

"All I did was keep the situation from escalating," Sam replied. "It's hardly what I'd call an adventure."

"You had to explain alien ships to an entire Air Force base," said O'Neill. "You got your house broken into by a Russian spy. You _randomly_ ran into a veteran of Area 51."

Sam just shrugged.

"So how'd it turn out?" O'Neill asked.

"With the Galactic Federation?"

"That was in the report. I mean with the girl."

"She's fine," said Sam. "Apparently she'll stay with her sister after all. A couple of the aliens were exiled to Earth and they'll be helping rebuild the house."

"And living there?"

"It sounded like they wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps, so I didn't ask. But I would assume as much."

"Huh," O'Neill deadpanned. "I wonder what's that like? Having an alien in the family?"

Sam smiled. "I don't _live_ with my dad, Jack. It's not the same."

"Of course not. But if he ever did move back... All I'm saying is, if that was a TV show, I'd watch it."

  



End file.
